Spring of Wonder

Saturday

Jan 18, 2003 at 3:46 AM

BY JOE CALLAHANSENIOR STAFF WRITER

SILVER SPRINGS - Robert Day has only three memories of a whirlwind vacation 50 years ago when the first-grader's family traveled from eastern Kentucky to Florida on a visit of the state's famed tourist attractions.
The 56-year-old retired teacher says he can still taste the sand after an Atlantic Ocean wave pushed him face first onto the beach. He also vaguely remembers the Cypress Gardens water ski show that mesmerized him in the summer of 1952.
But one event burns brightly in his memory above all others - his first glass-bottom boat ride at Silver Springs.
Day and his wife, Ethel, visited Silver Springs recently jumped on the glass-bottom boat Chief Micanopy and took the 15-minute tour of one of the spectacular springs.
After disembarking, he noted that the ride hasn't changed much, except "back then everything looked much bigger."
This year marks the 125th anniversary of glass-bottom boat rides at Silver Springs and the birth of Florida tourism. From a row boat fitted with a piece of glass in 1878 to today's electric-powered models, glass-bottom boats have been the main attraction.
For more than a century, people from around the world have visited Silver Springs to catch a glimpse of one of the spectacular spring networks that pumps 801 million gallons of pure water from the ground each day.
More than 300 billion gallons of water flow out of the springs down the Silver River to the Ocklawaha River. Eventually, the water reaches the St. Johns River and flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville.
More than a century ago, tourists from Jacksonville rode steamboats to Silver Springs and became fascinated with the area's natural beauty. By the early 1870s, more than 50,000 people a year were visiting the springs.
That prompted two entrepreneurs to capitalize on the scenic springs.
THE BEGINNING
It was in the mid-1870s when Phillip Morell decided to place a piece of plate glass in the bottom of a row boat so that he could paddle over the springs and catch a glimpse of the seven springs that feed the area.
Described as an imaginative, red-headed young man, Morell remembered that during his childhood he would watch boys use small pieces of glass to form underwater telescopes to view the springs and its wildlife.
Morell decided to capitalize on the idea in the late 1870s and placed the glass in the bottom of his row boat. The glass was caulked carefully inside his boat before he took the first known voyage over the springs, a date that is now lost to history.
Charging a few pennies per ride, Morell was the first to provide glass-bottom boat rides at Silver Springs. Soon thereafter, Hullam Jones launched his own glass-bottom boat ride and later would go down in history as the inventor.
Jones beat Morell to the patent office and officially became the registered inventor in 1878. The bow of Hullam's first boat was carved out of a cypress log and the rest was built with cypress planks. It measured more than three feet wide and was 20 feet long.
Positioned inside on the boat's flat bottom was a 15-inch long, four-inch wide piece of glass. That first boat worked for years and now is located at the Florida Museum of History in Tallahassee.
Since no one knows the date of Morell's first voyage, Silver Springs attraction officials are using the year of Jones' patent, 1878, as the beginning of glass-bottom boat rides.
"That's the only date we can hang our hat on," said Silver Springs spokesman Steve Specht.
For several years, glass-bottom boat rides were profitable for both Morell and Jones. By the 1890s, commercial glass-bottom boats were used at the springs. But when Henry Flagler built a railroad in the 1880s along Florida's east coast, tourist traffic began dwindling.
Then in 1909, Ed Carmichael purchased the springs and improved the commercial glass-bottom boats by adding more comfortable seats and canopies. For the next 15 years, routine boat rides continued under Carmichael, who sold the property in 1924.
That's when Carl Ray and W.M. Davidson purchased the property and immediately improved the boats again, adding gasoline engines. Within the next five years, thanks to aggressive advertising, Silver Springs again became a top tourist attraction.
In 1932, glass-bottom boats became electric powered. By the 1950s, nearly 1 million people a year were visiting Silver Springs, which had played host in the 1930s to the filming of six Tarzan movies and became the home of Ross Allen's reptile institute.
50 YEARS AT THE WHEEL
Silver Springs was one of the state's top tourist destinations when ABC Paramount purchased the attraction in 1962. The company bought new glass-bottom boats, which are still being used today.
Since ABC owned the park, there have been numerous owners. Last year, Palace Entertainment purchased it.
"We're restoring the only known remaining glass-bottom boat from before ABC purchased the property," said Specht as he pointed to the "W.C. Ray." "Back then, they were named after the owners."
Today, the boats are named for American Indians who once frequented the area.
Leon Cheatom, a boat captain who has worked at Silver Springs for about 50 years, has always loved taking people out over the springs.
"I enjoy telling people what I know about the history," said Cheatom moments after he took Day and about two dozen others over several springs. "Today, the trips are shorter because they added the Lost River Voyage."
Oscar Collins, 56, who has worked at Silver Springs since 1967, said he loves being a captain on the glass-bottom boat rides because of the ride is known by millions around the world. It's a ride most people never forget.
"I love taking people over a spring when a large alligator is at the bottom," Collins said.
Cheatom, 64, became a boat captain in 1957 and is now the director of natural resources. Despite his promotion, Cheatom occasionally takes people out over the springs.
"It's something I'm very proud of," he said. "There's something about the glass-bottom boats that most everyone loves. I feel like that if I do my job as a captain well, then everyone should go away from here with an appreciation for these springs."
Joe Callahan can be reached at joe.callahan@starbanner.com or paged at 898-9649.
CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
'Positive transitions' planned for park
Protecting park's environment high priority for officials
CONTINUED FROM 1A
SILVER SPRINGS - Silver Springs has changed many times over the years, adding or subtracting attractions and rides, but the glass-bottom boats have always remained.
Today, 125 years after the first glass-bottom boat set out across the pristine springs, the park is undergoing another metamorphosis that Bob Gallagher, general manager of Silver Springs, calls "positive transition."
The company, which purchased the 350-acre nature-based theme park in 2002, is embarking on a major overhaul that will focus on restoring the park to its early look and feel.
"With the improvements, we want to bring the park back to the prominence and the way it looked originally," he said. "Now we have the tools . . . the money to fix the things that need attention."
Palace Entertainment will not release financial details of the improvement plan, only that it will be "substantial."
Silver Springs attraction and Wild Waters are a part of the 38-family entertainment park portfolio of Palace Entertainment, based in Irvine, Calif.
Palace Entertainment has been in business since 1998 under the brand name Boomers. The company's water parks also includes Big Kahuna in Destin.
Vince Lupinacci, president and CEO of Palace Entertainment, said the family-oriented appeal of Silver Springs and Wild Waters, which are considered one property, makes the facility a nice fit in the company's portfolio.
Lupinacci said the first step is to shape a long-term vision for the park, but protecting the environment remains a high priority as the company charts the direction of the park.
"There is a lot to learn about the area, the history of the movies filmed there, and the attraction itself offers a lot," Lupinacci said. "Our goal is to improve."
The land surrounding the bank and headwaters of the Silver River, has served many purposes over the centuries, as either a homestead for Indians, a vital port for commerce or a recreational outlet.
In the 1800s, steamers operating along the river delivered goods and tourists to take a peek at the area's beauty. It was not until the late 1870s and the invention of the glass-bottom boats that visitors would get an up-close view of the depths, however.
There followed a series of private and corporate owners.
Steve Specht, spokesman for Silver Springs, said up until the late 1960s, people could come out to the park 24 hours a day to enjoy the area.
One of the recent owners, Ogden Entertainment Inc., a New York conglomerate, took over the local attraction in 1996. The company embarked on a multi-million dollar expansion at both Silver Springs and Wild Waters, adding new rides and the concert stage at Silver Springs.
SmartPark, Inc., under Greek conglomerate Alfa Alfa Holdings, stepped in to run the park in 2000 before selling the property to Palace Entertainment last year.
Palace's plans include the opening of a Historical Showcase on Jan. 25 featuring displays and exhibits of the area's past, from fossils to film.
A 40-passenger carousel will be added to the park by early March featuring endangered animals, and a pizza restaurant is set to open. The 2003 concert series kicks off today with the Righteous Brothers. Gallagher, managing the park for three years, said its possible more special events will be sponsored as well.
The company also plans to upgrade the infrastructure, including the sound system and botanical gardens. Beyond that, officials aren't finished planning.
"It's tough to answer what changes may come down the line. There is a lot we want to do and we want to do what is most appropriate for the park to be first-class," Gallagher said. "And that is the root of its success and that's critical."
Katie Mulhearn, tourism director for the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce, said Silver Springs remains a steady draw to the area.
"We have a lot of people stop in the visitors center looking for Silver Springs and we direct them from here," Mulhearn said. "Or they are visiting the area looking for things to do and see the mural we have of Silver Springs and want to know where it is."
According to Mulhearn, the Silver Springs brochure is a hot item.
"How can we see a horse farm in the area and where is Silver Springs are the two main questions asked of the staff in the visitors center," she said.
Harriet Daniels covers business for the Star-Banner. She can be reached at 867-4125 or at harriet.daniels@starbanner.com.